Skee.



LA FAYETTE H. HANNAS.

SKEE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. s, 1908.

902,654. Patented Nov. 3, 1908.

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LA FAYETTE H. HANNAS, OF UTICA. NEW YORK.

SKEE

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 3, 1908.

Application filed February 8, 1908. Serial No. 414,877.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, LA FAYETTE H. HAN- NAS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Utica, in the county of Oneida and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Skees, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to an improved skee, and I declare the following isa full, clear, concise and exact description thereof, sufficient toenable one skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings in which like reference charactersrefer to like parts throughout.

The particular feature of my invention is in having means connecting theboot of a traveler with the skee in a hinged connection. Heretofore ithas been common to have a member secured to the surface of the skee atone end, its other end being free to be bent upward on a curve from thepoint of attachment to the rear as, for instance, by the use of a thinmetallic plate or a leather strip.

ther styles of constructions have been used with similar features andresults, but need not be pointed out, except to explain the differencein construction and principle of such instances and the device which 1illustrate in the drawings. This difference in principle of constructionand operation is mainly that the plate to which the foot of the weareris secured takes the form of a curve when the heel of the foot is raisedin walking, the toe of the foot being secured to the plate or stripwhich at the forward part rises very little from the surface of theskee. The re sult is that more work is laced upon the joints of the footthan shou d be for comfort and endurance. In other words the foot cannotbe lifted from the skee with the tip of the boot as the wearing pointand the sole of the boot substantially flat, and when the foot isbrought forward there is unnecessary strain put on the muscles, becausethe tendency of the strip to which the boot is secured is to lie fiatand the wear at every step is working against the force of that strip,es pecially if it be a metallic strip. It has been found that when aleather strip or plate is used, for instance, it becomes wet and losesthe necessary stiffness to keep the heel of the wearer in its properposition in successive steps.

The device which I have invented consists essentially in a hinge havingone portion secured to the skee and the other adapted to hold the footof the wearer. yield or play in walking is on the line which connectsthese portions of the hinge. The portion to which the toe of the boot issecured is held beneath that portion of the sole of the boot which isnot bent in walking, leaving the rest of the foot and boot free for itsnatural movements and permitting the hinge movement or bending, as itmay be termed, to take place with perfect freedom and entirelyindependent of the curving or bending of the foot and boot and withoutany strain or work in overcoming the resiliency of the foot supportingmember which is not of hinged construction.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top view of a portion of a skee showingthe device, and Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, while Fig. 3 is alike view in section showing one form of the device and Fig. 4 shows theswinging portion raised.

Referring to the figures in detail, A is the skee which is of familiarstyle and form; B represents one portion of the hinged member to which Ireferred, being the one which is secured to the skee.

C is the other portion of the hinge and consists of a toe-clip having aface portion a and side portions 0 extending upwardly, one on each sideof the skee and flared rearwardly to receive the boot.

D represents a strap passed through eyes or slots (1 and adapted to bepassed over the foot to secure the same in the clip. Of course, anysuitable style of clip or toe fastening, and in fact any suitable styleof hinge can be employed. It will be seen in Fig. 3 that the clipcomprises a separate metallic member secured to the swinging member C ofthe hinge. It may be desired, however, to form this clip and the memberC of a single piece which can readily be done.

E are thongs mounted on the toe-clip with rings 6 through which laeingsF of any suitable character and arrangement can be passed to secure theboot and foot within the clip. I

It will be observed that the toe of the wearer projects slightly overthe line at which the hinged members are connected but not far enough tobring the tip of the sole against the portion B, so as not to interferewith easy walking. The clips C are mounted secure enough to have asubstantial bearing of the tip of the sole thereon and the strap D Theentireis adapted in connection with the side portions to hold the toesecurely within the clip, and so as to prevent side swinging of the footon the clip when the wearer walks. The foot being secured firmly in theclip, is otherwise free so that the wearer can walk without anyinterference with the freedom of the muscles and without any additionalor unnecessary efi'ort working against the strength of the deviceitself. In raising the foot it swings freely and easily on the hinge sothat in bringing the foot forward the toe carries the skee withoutappreciable effort, the foot being entirely free in the work and naturaland easy walking, except for the weight of the skee.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is:

1. A skee having foot engaging means thereon, the same comprising ahinge, one portion being fixed to the shoe and the other adapted toreceive and hold the foot of the wearer. v V Y 2. A skee harnesscomprising a member secured to the skee, a member hingedly connectedtherewith and adapted to have secured thereto the foot of the wearer,the latter member being adapted to engage the foot at the toe and securethe foot.

3. A SlU-BG having a harness comprising a hinge, one member of which issecured to the skee and the other is adapted to receive and hold thefoot whereby in the act of walking the foot swings freely above the skeeon a bearing point located at its forward extremity.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LA FAYETTE H. HANNAS.

Witnesses:

E. T. DE GIORGI, HENRY M. LOVE.

